Page 35 of Explosive Prejudice

Taking a drag from my cig and then exhaling the smoke, I looked down at him. “And what makes you think you can ask one?”

“Well.” He reached for my cigarette and took it, putting it between his full lips and inhaling deeply. “Earlier, you asked me two questions while I only asked one,” he said, exhaling slowly.

Taking the cigarette from him because, unlike me, he shouldn’t waste himself on this crap, I laughed. “Is that so?”

“Yep.” He lifted two fingers in the air. “First one being why I was late.” He took one finger down. “The second was if I fucked Dion.” Taking the second down as well, he tilted his head back. “Learn to count, bitch.”

“Fuck off.” I nudged his head away, and he laughed. “But fine, ask your question.”

“Ever wanted to take this off?” He tapped my mask, his baby blues pinning me with curiosity.

“No.”

His lips twisted. “What do you mean no?”

“You asked a question, and my answer is no.”

Grunting, he got up and moved to sit on top of me. “How can you say no? Don’t you want to see my face?” He then paused dramatically. “Don’t tell me you think I’m ugly?” Crossing his arms over his chest, he huffed. “Let me tell you something, sweetheart. I’m freaking gorgeous. Seriously, I’d definitely fuck me.”

He was absurd.

“And I take it that modesty isn’t your strongest quality?”

“Fuck modesty. With a face like mine?” He smirked, and I shook my head before discarding the cigarette in the ashtray I’d brought to bed.

“Did you know those masks originated in the thirteenth century, when Venetians wore these unique costumes to hide their identity for carnivals? It was the only time the middle and upper classes partied together. Rich, poor, it didn’t matter, because a mask hid who you were.” He studied me intensely as I spoke. “So you see, the mask gives you not only the privilege of discretion but also the opportunity of equality. To be seen by those who didn’t see you, all you needed to do was to cover your face.” I brushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “Aristocrats indulged like fools, while peasants as kings.”

Without my noticing, my finger moved from tracing the outline of his angular jaw to his lips, softly caressing them.

“What are you saying?” he asked, slightly opening his mouth to me.

“If not for these masks, you wouldn’t have noticed me.”

I had no idea how or why I even said what I just did. It wasn’t like I ever cared to be noticed by rich assholes. I despised them. Loathed them for thinking they deserved more because of their money. Going to Beverly Bay High and working here only deepened my resentment and disgust for their lifestyle, and yet, for the first time in my life, a part of me wished to be seen by one of them. No. By him.

“That’s not true,” he whispered. “Trust me when I say that I would have. With or without a mask, I would have noticed you, Nero.”

His words settled deep in my chest, turning it a bit tighter than before and forcing my hands to pull him closer. This moment was a substantial shift from what we’d done only a while ago, but I welcomed it. The way this man made me feel was one of a kind, and the urge to truly know him was becoming stronger and stronger with each passing minute of being around him. And although I wasn’t ready to take my cover off, I was ready to admit I wanted more from him.

The comfort I found in our meetings, the heat from being near him, and the jealousy of him being with Dion stirred in my gut was enough for me to know that he wasn’t just a client, not anymore, not since the beginning.

“I want to kiss you,” I said, holding his stare. I never thought that the first time I’d want to kiss someone would be with a man, but by now, I realized that my attraction to him was undeniable, and fighting it was pointless.

“I want you to kiss me, too,” he answered, getting closer and stopping with his hand on my mask. “But this is in the way.”

True. At least one of us had to take off our mask because with them, it was impossible to kiss, at least not in the lips-ravishing-soul-eating way I wanted to devour him.

“Close your eyes,” he said, his stare piercing into my fucking core.

We were close enough for me to feel his heart racing the same speed as my own, and yet, it was still not enough, so I did as he said.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now we meet.”

Reaching for my hand, he brought it again to his lips, only this time, moving it higher on his face, his way of letting me know he’d taken off his mask. His shield.

Without a hint of hesitation, he took it all down.

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